A Handy Guide to Venezuela Trivia Quiz

Answer: Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela

Venezuela changed its official name to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in 1999 following a 'Bolivarian Revolution' led by the then newly elected president, Hugo Chavez. The 'revolution' ushered in a new national constitution which included democratic reforms, enshrined human rights and introduced publicly funded health care. It was named after Simon Bolivar, the man credited with liberating much of northern South America from Spanish control in the early 19th century.

The incorrect options all belong to other South American nations: the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, the Plurinational State of Bolivia and the Federative Republic of Brazil.

The picture clue shows a statue of Simon Bolivar that stands in the Plaza Bolivar in the Venezuelan capital city, Caracas. It was put up in 1874 and is a replica of a work by the Italian sculptor, Adamo Tadolini, located in Lima, Peru.

Answer: Valencia

Valencia, Venezuela is located about 180km (112 miles) west of the capital, Caracas, and is an important economic centre. It was founded by the Spanish in the mid-16th century on the eastern shore of Lake Valencia. The Cabriales River flows through the city with several parks located along its banks. The city is also home to the University of Carabobo.

The Spanish city of Valencia is a busy port on the Mediterranean Sea, originally founded by the Romans. It is a popular tourist destination as it has a wealth of historical architecture and museums as well as having hosted both the America's Cup yachting race and a Formula 1 Grand Prix. It also gives its name to the Valencia orange, hence the picture clue. The two namesake cities were twinned in 1982.

Maracaibo and Merida are both Venezuelan state capitals, but of the states of Zulia and Merida respectively. San Diego is located in Carabobo state but its more famous namesake is in California, USA.

Answer: Reservoir

Lake Guri, on the Caroni River in eastern Venezuela, was created by the construction of the Guri Dam in the 1960s. It has a surface area of over 1,500 square miles (4,000 square km) and can hold up to about 32 cubic miles of water - about 130 trillion litres! The Guri Dam is part of a hydro-electric power generation project and provides a large proportion of Venezuela's electricity requirements.

A crater lake is a type of lake that sometimes forms in the crater of an inactive volcano. Glacial lakes form when retreating glaciers melt and the water fills up the space left behind. Oxbow lakes are cut-off sections of meandering rivers.

'Reservoir Dogs' was the 1992 movie that marked the directorial debut of Quentin Tarantino. Just for the record, it isn't really about either reservoirs or dogs and it isn't set in Venezuela.

Answer: OPEC

The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was founded in 1960 by four countries from the Middle East (Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia) and Venezuela. To obtain membership a country needs to have significant net exports of crude petroleum, "similar interests" to existing member countries and obtain the permission of all five founding members.

Venezuela has some of the largest oil reserves in the world, both offshore (where the rig depicted in the picture clue might come in handy) and around Lake Maracaibo and the Orinoco River. Venezuela's economy is highly dependent on oil exports; in the 1970s the oil industry was nationalised, creating the state-owned oil giant PDVSA (Petroleos de Venezuela, SA).

NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) was founded by the US, Canada and ten European nations. The EU (European Union) and the OAU (Organisation of African Unity) were founded by European and African countries respectively - a fact that is not terribly surprising given their names. The OAU was disbanded in 2002 and immediately replaced by a new organisation called the African Union.

Answer: Nigeria (at approx. 360,000 square miles)

Venezuela covers a total of approximately 350,000 square miles (900,000 square km.), making it closest in size to the west African country of Nigeria - another well known oil exporting nation and fellow OPEC member.

Venezuela's 350,000 square miles are split into four distinct topographical areas: the Maracaibo Lowlands surrounding Lake Maracaibo in the north-west of the country; the central grassland plains that form part of the wider Los Llanos, through which the Orinoco River flows; the northern mountains that form part of the Andes mountain range; and the Guiana Highlands in the south-east.

The picture clue shows the flag of Nigeria. Mexico's flag has green, white and red vertical stripes; Mongolia's has red, blue and red vertical stripes; and Paraguay's has red, white and blue horizontal stripes.

Answer: Guitar

Cuatros are small members of the guitar family originating from Latin America. The name 'cuatro' is Spanish for the number four, and represents the number of strings on a traditional version of the instrument (although some modern cuatros have more). Although a Venezuelan cuatro is often described as being similar to a ukulele, it produces a completely different sound and style of music. Traditional Venezuelan musical styles that often include a cuatro are joropo (which is waltz-like and has an accompanying dance), gaita (which is from the Maracaibo area) and galerón.

The picture clue shows two other members of the guitar family: a classic guitar (left) and an acoustic bass guitar (right). Violins and lyres are also stringed musical instruments. The piccolo is a woodwind instrument that resembles a small flute.

Answer: Miraflores Palace

The Miraflores Palace was originally constructed as a family home for Joaquin Crespo, a 19th century president of Venezuela who held the office from 1884 to 1886 and then again from 1892 to 1898. It was built in western Caracas between 1884 and 1897 in the neoclassical style, by an Italian architect named Giuseppe Orsi de Mombello.

The palace became the official residence and workplace of the Venezuelan president in 1911 during the first of Juan Vicente Gomez's presidential terms, but it fell into disuse following the suspicious death of Gomez's brother, the Vice President, in the building in 1923. Following Gomez's death in 1935, the new president, Eleazar Contreras, designated Miraflores Palace as the seat of government and it once again became the official workplace of the president. (The official residence of the president moved to a villa called La Casona in 1964.)

The picture clue shows the Miraflores Palace in 1998. The White House, Élysée Palace and Los Pinos are the official residences and workplaces of the presidents of the USA, France and Mexico respectively.

Answer: Orchid

The Flor de Mayo (or May Flower) orchid has the Latin name Cattleya mossiae and was declared Venezuela's national flower in 1951. The country also has a national tree (the araguaney) and a national bird (the Venezuelan troupial) - which is a type of oriole with bright orange and black feathers.

Venezuela is believed to have over 20,000 different species of plant, of which nearly 40% are endemic to the country and therefore not found anywhere else. Its extensive tropical forests are a key habitat for many of these, including the orchids.

Many other nations have used a species of orchid as their national flower, including Belize, Honduras and Singapore. The rhododendron is the national flower of Nepal; the tulip is famously the national flower of the Netherlands (although other countries use it as well); and jasmine is the national flower of Pakistan, Indonesia and Tunisia amongst others.

The picture clue shows an orchid - although sadly it's not an example of the famed Flor de Mayo.

Answer: Guyana

The disputed land to the west of the Essequibo River is known as Guayana Esequiba. The problem dates back to the colonial period when Spain originally included the territory in Venezuela, but later Dutch and British settlers included it in what is now Guyana. In 1966 Venezuela, British Guiana (as it was then) and the UK signed the Treaty of Geneva which established a commission through which the dispute was supposed to be resolved. Needless to say it wasn't that simple; the different parties couldn't agree on how to interpret the treaty and the matter was then further complicated by Guyana becoming an independent nation later that year.

The picture clue shows an outline image of Guyana. If you look closely, the Essequibo River is clearly shown running from the town of Bartica down to Guyana's southern border with Brazil. This highlights the fact that the disputed territory accounts for more than half the country!

Venezuela has land borders with three countries: Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east and Brazil to the south. Peru and Bolivia are both further south.

Answer: Angel Falls

Mount Auyantepui (or Auyan-tepui) is located in the Canaima National Park in the Guiana Highlands of south-east Venezuela. Technically speaking, as shown by the picture clue, Angel Falls is not really 'on' the mountain, but cascading down the side of it with a total drop of about 3,200 feet (980 metres). However, the falls are particularly famous for being the highest uninterrupted waterfalls in the world - the uninterrupted portion accounts for just over 80% of the total drop (about 2,650 feet or 800 metres).

A tepui is a type of mesa or table mountain. Auyantepui is one of the largest tepuis in Venezuela, with a summit plateau of about 250 square miles (650 square km.).

Llovizna Falls is a waterfall on the Caroni River, Los Aleros is a theme park near the city of Merida and Altamira is a district of Caracas.